Deandra Allen knew that her Midland High softball team needed her to go the distance against rival Lee on Thursday afternoon.

Not only did the junior pitcher go the distance, she struck out 10 to help MHS defeat the Lady Rebels, 2-1, in a District 3-6A game at the Audrey Gill Sports Complex.

“I thought she did a good job,” said MHS coach Shawnda Vines about Allen’s outing. “She had a quick turnaround. She pitched against Permian on Tuesday and then threw again today, and she did a fantastic job. And then to be able to finish the game in the last inning without any drama, that’s what we’ve been working on.”

Allen said the key for her on her best day in the circle was moving the ball around and having the right mindset.

“My goal in this game was to pitch all seven innings and that was in my mind since Tuesday,” said Allen, who suffered a tough-luck loss in a 4-3 come-from-behind win against Permian on Tuesday. “I just knew I could pitch again today after Tuesday.”

With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 16-7-1 overall and 3-1 in 3-6A, while Lee fell to 9-14-1 overall and 0-4 in district.

This was a game that featured two outstanding pitching performances as Lee’s Melanie Marin also had a good day in the circle as she allowed the two runs on just six hits and added three strikeouts.

Lee struck first in the opening frame as Shleby Olivas was hit by a pitch and then later scored on a single by Molly Abalos.

But MHS was quick to respond in the bottom of the first as Brooke Ryan drew a walk and then scored on a single to shallow left by Natalie Gamboa to tie the game at 1.

“We’ve been talking to our kids about bouncing back,” said Vines, whose team suffered a late-game loss to Permian on Tuesday. “If something happens on the field, make sure we can bounce back from it and don’t dwell on it. And the next thing we want to do, the next time we touch the ball, it needs to be something good to what just happened.”

After that opening frame, it was tough for the Lady Rebels to get much offense going against Allen, as she buckled down and got key outs when she needed them.

“The run (in the first inning) was a run, it happens,” Allen said. “The key is to bounce back from it and keep on going.”

MHS got the eventual game-winning run in the fourth inning when Racey Haile reached on an error and later scored when Alyssa Flores connected for one of her two hits in the game with a single to right.

Lee’s biggest opportunity came in the fifth when it got two hits to start off the inning. But the Lady Rebels came away empty and Allen was able to get a force out at third base and then two strikeouts to end the threat.